Life in the OB-GYN Lane

4 weeks in this rotation have gone by in the blink of an eye. At my specific site, I am not doing deliveries, so I have more gyn exposure. My doc does take pregnant patients and she follows them up until the point of delivery. In this office I have really gotten do to a lot. I have done paps, lots of bloodwork, fetal heart tones, and helped assist in surgeries. My doc does hyseroscopies, colposcopies, and LEEPs in her office.

My favorite part of this rotation is the pregnant patients. I love seeing the parents’ faces when they hear the babies heart beat for the first time. I also like seeing the new moms change from week to week. Pregnancy seems like an exciting and tiring process at the same time.

This rotation moves very quickly due to the patient volume. I see about 35 patients a day and there is just one doctor. To some that may not seem like a lot but each initial OB visit is at least an hour long and new patients take about 30 minutes, so time adds up. That does not even include surgeries. To me this rotation is more stressful than the ER because of the pace. After coming from the ER, however, it is no sweat. In the ER there was some waiting time when all the tests have been ordered but the results have not come back. At this rotation, I hardly ever get a lunch, I may sneak off for a few minute to grab something and go. At this point I am used to it and for the most part I am not even hungry anymore during lunch. While being at work is not tiring I crash when I get home. It is also very hard to wake up in the mornings.

What makes this rotation unique is that OB-GYN is a very personal process. In other rotations it was as well, but this rotation in particular is more so. People are very private about their personal lives especially their gyn history, they will only tell their Dr this information. Also gyn exams can be a scary thing for some patients. My Dr also acts as a primary care doctor. She keeps her patients in line with their weight, makes sure patients are maintaining important medications, helps with depression/anxiety, and even goes over treatment of osteoporosis and osteopenia. She does it all. What I also enjoy is that she likes to teach me. With rotation 5 almost over and rotation number 6 (surgery) on the way, I officially have 4 months and 18 days until graduation!